I must admit I get fed up of all of the digger books, the firetruck books, the dinosaurs and the good versus evil stories. I’d love to just read about fairies and princesses, but I know that it won’t happen anytime soon.
So I’ve found it has been important for me to find books we both me and my boys can enjoy. Books which includes adventure and rescue, but additionally have an angle.
It’s tiring being a mom with two boys. Over the years I have learnt to put up with the cars. and the tools. The desire to construct something and after that knock it down or jump off it.
At the toy shop, I have been battling going into the boy section, up till last season. I believed I’d choose gender-neutral toys. But have discovered it’s harder than I thought to ignore my son when he rushes into the boy toy section.
A couple of months ago my youngest son was introduced to the Transformers figurines. After many requests, I succumbed and got my son a Transformer.
I managed to convince him he could choose to transform his own personality at any time. And it worked. He really loved playing with the toy. And since then, we’ve found ways to weave transformers into tales and play situations revolving around character building, serving others, and working with others.
From this experience, I’ve discovered that there are ways to turn boy toys into constructive learning experiences.
I’ve been really open to letting my boys discover the things they like doing without adhering to a stereotype. Fortunately, we all like swimming!
For instance, boys can enjoy sewing. They can enjoy going to the Opera. They might be into fashion! So I want to remember not to stereotype them and to be aware of their natural skills.
I would hate to force them into a mould and to mother them with an open heart and an open mind. I keep on reminding myself that boy things aren’t bad.
Being active isn’t bad! Being loudly is not necessarily bad either!